Flights cancelled, airfares jump 52-171% as rainfall batters Chennai

Airfares on major domestic routes from Chennai surged as flight operations at the airport were disrupted due to strong winds and torrential rain that lashed the city in the wake of Cyclone Michaung on Monday.

According to ixigo data, on December 5, one-way spot airfares from Chennai to cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata rose between 52 per cent and 171 per cent compared to prices three to seven days prior.

The Chennai-Mumbai route, the busiest flight route from Chennai airport, saw airfares surge 68.6 per cent from Rs 3,728 to Rs 6,286 in the aforementioned period. Airfares rose 52.3 per cent from Rs 10,724 to Rs 16,334 on the Chennai-Delhi route during the same time.

Airfares on the Chennai-Hyderabad route saw the steepest increase of 171.5 per cent as airfares increased from Rs 5,925 to Rs 16,089.

Chennai airport announced the cancellation of arrivals and departures until 9 am on December 5 due to severe weather conditions caused by the cyclone. Earlier, flight operations were suspended until 11 pm on Monday. However, this was extended to the next day as rough weather persisted over the city.

Meanwhile, data from the flight tracking website flightradar24.com showed that over 30 flights to Chennai were diverted to airports in Bengaluru, Trichy, and Hyderabad on Monday. Approximately 90 departures and arrivals each were cancelled at Chennai airport as persistent heavy rainfall and strong winds lashed the city and nearby regions, according to data.

Airlines have advised passengers to check the status of their flights. Domestic carriers have offered a fee waiver on flight cancellations or rescheduling of the impacted flights for their passengers.

“IndiGo is offering a waiver on cancellation/rescheduling of flights for passengers of impacted flights,” the airline said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

On Monday, Cyclone Michuang (pronounced as ‘Migjaum’) intensified into a severe cyclonic storm 90 kilometres east-northeast of Chennai.

“It is likely to intensify gradually and move nearly northwards almost parallel and close to the south Andhra Pradesh coast and cross South Andhra Pradesh coast between Nellore and Machilipatnam, close to Bapatla during the forenoon of December 5 as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kilometres per hour (kmph) gusting to 110 kmph,” the India Meteorological Department said.

Nearly eight years ago, in December 2015, Chennai airport operations were suspended for four days after the city experienced torrential rainfall and floods.